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      <a href="../../../index.html">Sigil User Guide
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    0.7.2

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  <h2 id="preferences" class="calibre5">Preferences</h2>

  <p class="h2subheading">— Customise Sigil —</p>

  <p class="calibre1">The Preferences dialog gives you control over many settings in Sigil.</p>

  <p class="calibre1">Select the menu item <span class="shortcut">Edit→Preferences</span> to open the Preferences dialog:</p>

  <div class="image"><img alt="preferences-menu" src="../Images/preferences-menu.png" class="calibre7"/></div>

  <p class="calibre1">You can change the following settings (see below for details):</p>

  <ul class="calibre3">
    <li class="calibre4">Appearance</li>

    <li class="calibre4">Clean Source</li>

    <li class="calibre4">Keyboard Shortcuts</li>

    <li class="calibre4">Language</li>

    <li class="calibre4">Spellcheck Dictionaries</li>
  </ul>

  <p class="calibre1">Once the Preferences window is open you can choose the area you want to modify by clicking on the entry on the left. Selecting <span class="buttonbox">OK</span> or closing the window will save the current settings.</p>

  <h3 class="sigilnotintoc" id="preferences_appearance">Appearance</h3>

  <div class="tip">
    <p class="tiptext">Appearance settings do not affect how your EPUB is displayed on ereaders!</p>
  </div>

  <p class="calibre1">You can modify the fonts and colors that Sigil uses to display your book while editing:</p>

  <div class="image"><img alt="preferences-appearance" src="../Images/preferences-appearance.png" class="calibre7"/></div>

  <p class="calibre1">The settings that can be changed include:</p>

  <ul class="calibre3">
    <li class="calibre4"><span class="listheading">Book View / Preview:</span> You can independently set the font family/size for serif fonts and san-serif fonts.</li>

    <li class="calibre4"><span class="listheading">CSS / Code View:</span> These settings control the font family/size for both HTML files in Code View and CSS files. You can also set the color used for highlighting text.</li>

    <li class="calibre4"><span class="listheading">Insert Special Characters:</span> You can set the font family/size of characters in the Special Characters dialog.</li>
  </ul>

  <div class="tip">
    <p class="tiptext">The default fonts for Book View and Code View are Arial and Times New Roman. If these are not available on your system the preferences will default to the first available font.</p>
  </div>

  <h3 class="sigilnotintoc">Clean Source</h3>

  <p class="calibre1">You can set the level of automatic formatting and cleaning that is performed on your HTML source code, and when cleaning should be done.</p>

  <p class="calibre1">The default setting is to clean when opening or saving EPUBs and to use Pretty Print Tidy. This means that Sigil will re-format your source code to make it more readable and easier to search, and it will try to correct simple errors that make the code invalid.</p>

  <p class="calibre1"><img alt="preference-clean-source" src="../Images/preferences-clean-source.png" class="calibre7"/></p>

  <h4 class="sigilnotintoc1">Automatically Clean and Format Source Code</h4>

  <p class="calibre1">You can control when automatic cleaning and formatting of your code is done with the following options:</p>

  <ul class="calibre3">
    <li class="calibre4"><span class="listheading">Open:</span> When enabled, cleaning and formatting will be performed automatically when you open an EPUB or HTML file, or when switching from Book View to Code View after editing in Book View.</li>

    <li class="calibre4"><span class="listheading">Save:</span> When enabled, cleaning and formatting will be done when you use Save or Save As.</li>
  </ul>

  <div class="tip">
    <p class="tiptext">If an HTML file is not well-formed due to invalid code, then Sigil will prompt you to confirm opening or saving if automatic cleaning is enabled.</p>

    <p class="tiptext">If you open an invalid EPUB without automatic clean on Open, then a list of the invalid files will be displayed.</p>
  </div>

  <h4 class="sigilnotintoc1">When cleaning, use this type</h4>

  <p class="calibre1">You can set the following levels of cleaning:</p>

  <ul class="calibre3">
    <li class="calibre4"><span class="listheading">Pretty Print Tidy:</span> The HTML Tidy software will be used to format your code to make it easier to read, and it will convert your code to valid EPUB 2 XHTML (although some EPUB 3 features are allowed). For instance it will close tags that are opened but not closed. This is the recommended option for most users.</li>

    <li class="calibre4"><span class="listheading">HTML Tidy:</span> The HTML Tidy software will be used to clean your code – this will include Pretty Print Tidy plus converting some of your tags into styles and some of your styles into an internal stylesheet.</li>
  </ul>

  <div class="tip">
    <p class="tiptext">The ability to disable automatic clean on Save means you can save an invalid EPUB as is so you can continue working on it later. Make sure you disable Clean on Open as well.</p>
  </div>

  <h3 class="sigilnotintoc">Keyboard Shortcuts</h3>

  <p class="calibre1">You can view all the keyboard shortcuts assigned to functions in Sigil – and change them to what you prefer. So if you want <span class="shortcut">F12</span> to always open Find &amp; Replace then you can change it here.</p>

  <div class="tip">
    <p class="tiptext">You can also assign or re-assign a shortcut temporarily if you need a function to be easier to access for a short time.</p>
  </div>

  <div class="image"><img alt="preferences-shortcuts" src="../Images/preferences-shortcuts.png" class="calibre7"/></div>

  <p class="calibre1">To set or change a shortcut:</p>

  <ul class="calibre3">
    <li class="calibre4">Select the entry from the list.</li>

    <li class="calibre4">Click in the Shortcut text box.</li>

    <li class="calibre4">Type the key you want to use – do not spell it out using letters, just press the key sequence.</li>

    <li class="calibre4">Click on <span class="buttonbox">Assign</span> to set the shortcut (if there is a conflict with another entry you will see a message).</li>

    <li class="calibre4">You can also click on <span class="buttonbox">Remove</span> to remove the shortcut – this will remove any shortcut for this entry.</li>
  </ul>

  <p class="calibre1">Use <span class="buttonbox">Reset All</span> to change all shortcuts back to their defaults.</p>

  <div class="tip">
    <p class="tiptext">Use the Filter text box to easily search for shortcuts.</p>
  </div>

  <h3 class="sigilnotintoc" id="preferences_language">Language</h3>

  <p class="calibre1">You can set the language of Sigil’s interface and the default language of your book:</p>

  <div class="image"><img alt="preferences-language" src="../Images/preferences-language.png" class="calibre7"/></div>

  <h4 class="sigilnotintoc1" id="preferences_language_user">User Interface Language</h4>

  <p class="calibre1">Sigil’s user interface has been translated into many languages:</p>

  <div class="image"><img alt="preferences-language-dropdown" src="../Images/preferences-language-dropdown.png" class="calibre7"/></div>

  <p class="calibre1">You can select from the available languages using this option. If a translation is not available for specific words then they will be shown in English.</p>

  <div class="tip">
    <p class="tiptext">You must restart Sigil in order for the new user interface language to take effect.</p>

    <p class="tiptext">Try setting the interface to another language and restarting Sigil to see the translations volunteers have created.</p>
  </div>

  <h4 class="sigilnotintoc1" id="preferences_language_metadata">Default Language For Metadata</h4>

  <p class="calibre1">This option sets the language that will be selected in the Metadata Editor for new books or books that do not already have a language set.</p>

  <h3 class="sigilnotintoc" id="preferences_spellcheck_dictionaries">Spellcheck Dictionaries</h3>

  <p class="calibre1">Sigil supports spell checking in Code View, and allows you to choose standard and personal user dictionaries:</p>

  <div class="image"><img alt="preferences-spellcheck" src="../Images/preferences-spellcheck.png" class="calibre7"/></div>

  <h4 class="sigilnotintoc1">Highlight Misspelled Words</h4>

  <p class="calibre1">Enabling this option will highlight misspelled words in Code View with a red wavy underline. You will then be able to right-click on the word to select a suggested correction or add it to a dictionary.</p>

  <h4 class="sigilnotintoc1">Dictionary</h4>

  <p class="calibre1">Sigil includes several standard dictionaries: US English, British English, French, German, Spanish. You can select one using the Dictionary drop-down menu.</p>

  <div class="image"><img alt="preferences-spellcheck-standard-dictionary" src="../Images/preferences-spellcheck-standard-dictionary.png" class="calibre7"/></div>

  <p class="calibre1">If you want to add new standard dictionaries (which must be in the hunspell format) then you can click on the button <span class="buttonbox">Open Preferences Location</span> and go into the "hunspell_dictionaries" directory. Put your new dictionary files into the "hunspell_dictionaries" directory.</p>

  <div class="tip">
    <p class="tiptext">To add other standard dictionaries, such as ones found at the <a href="http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Dictionaries">OpenOffice Dictionaries</a> site, download, extract, and copy the files, e.g. en_GB.aff, en_GB.dic, hyph_en_GB.dic to the "hunspell_dictionaries" directory location and restart Sigil.</p>
  </div>

  <h4 class="sigilnotintoc1" id="preferences_user_dictionaries">User Dictionaries</h4>

  <p class="calibre1">You can create your own personal user dictionaries, and even use different ones for different books and different types of words (Places, Names, etc.).</p>

  <p class="calibre1">If you have not created any user dictionaries, Sigil will create and enable a "default" user dictionary for you, which you can rename or delete.</p>

  <p class="calibre1">To create a new user dictionary, select <span class="buttonbox">Add</span> under User Dictionaries on the left and then enter a name for your new dictionary:</p>

  <div class="image"><img alt="preferences-spellcheck-add-dictionary" src="../Images/preferences-spellcheck-add-dictionary.png" class="calibre7"/></div>

  <p class="calibre1">When you select a user dictionary on the left, you will see the words for that dictionary on the right which you can then add, edit, or remove.</p>

  <p class="calibre1">To add words directly to a user dictionary, select the dictionary and then click on <span class="buttonbox">Add</span> on the right. You can then type in as many words as you want or paste them in from a file – words can be separated by commas, spaces, or listed one per line.</p>

  <div class="image"><img alt="preferences-spellcheck-add-words" src="../Images/preferences-spellcheck-add-words.png" class="calibre7"/></div>

  <p class="calibre1">You can also add words to a dictionary using Spellcheck, or by right-clicking on misspelled words in Code View and selecting one of the Add To Dictionary options.</p>

  <div class="tip">
    <p class="tiptext">Selecting a dictionary makes it the default dictionary – this is used when you add words using the Add Misspelled Word shortcut or the menu item Add To Default Dictionary.</p>
  </div>

  <p class="calibre1">You can copy a complete dictionary using <span class="buttonbox">Copy</span>, and then rename it as needed.</p>

  <p class="calibre1">You can select which user dictionaries are enabled by marking the checkbox next to the dictionary’s name. All enabled dictionaries will be used when checking words to see if they are misspelled.</p>

  <div class="tip">
    <p class="tiptext">You can enable more than one dictionary at a time.</p>
  </div>

  <h4 class="sigilnotintoc1">Open Preferences Location</h4>

  <p class="calibre1">The <span class="buttonbox">Open Preferences Location</span> button on all the Preferences screens can be used to open the directory containing all of your preference files. You can copy the files for backup or for sharing with others.</p>

  <p class="calibre1">The preferences location will likely be in the following locations:</p>

  <p class="calibre1">Windows:</p>
  <pre class="example1">…\Local Settings\Application Data\sigil-ebook\sigil</pre>

  <p class="calibre1">MAC:</p>
  <pre class="example1">~/Library/Application\ Support/sigil-ebook/sigil/</pre>

  <p class="calibre1">Linux:</p>
  <pre class="example1">$HOME/.local/share/sigil-ebook/sigil</pre>

  <p class="calibre1">And the files you are likely to see will include:</p>

  <ul class="calibre3">
    <li class="calibre4"><span class="listheading">hunspell_dictionaries:</span> Where any standard dictionaries you add are stored.</li>

    <li class="calibre4"><span class="listheading">sigil_index.ini:</span> Your Index entries.</li>

    <li class="calibre4"><span class="listheading">sigil_searches.ini:</span> Your Saved Searches.</li>

    <li class="calibre4"><span class="listheading">sigil_clips.ini:</span> Your saved Clips.</li>

    <li class="calibre4"><span class="listheading">sigil.ini:</span> General configuration information for Sigil.</li>

    <li class="calibre4"><span class="listheading">user_dictionaries:</span> Where any personal user dictionaries are stored.</li>
  </ul>



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    <h2><a href="../../../index.html"> Table of contents</a></h2>
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      <a href="cover_picture.html">Cover</a>
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      <a href="titlepage.html">Title Page</a>
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      <a href="rights.html">Copyright</a>
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      <a href="introduction.html">Introduction</a>
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          <a href="whats_new.html">What’s New</a>
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          <a href="about_sigil.html">About Sigil</a>
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          <a href="about_epub.html">About EPUB</a>
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      <a href="installation.html">Installation</a>
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      <a href="features.html">Features</a>
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          <a href="user_interface.html">User Interface</a>
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          <a href="preferences.html">Preferences</a>
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          <a href="opening_and_saving_files.html">Opening and Saving Files</a>
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          <a href="book_view.html">Book View</a>
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          <a href="code_view.html">Code View</a>
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          <a href="book_browser.html">Book Browser</a>
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          <a href="metadata.html">Metadata</a>
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          <a href="add_cover.html">Add Cover</a>
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          <a href="validation.html">Validation</a>
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          <a href="spellcheck.html">Spellcheck</a>
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          <a href="splitting_and_merging.html">Splitting and Merging</a>
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          <a href="saved_searches.html">Saved Searches</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_getting_started_with_epub.html">Getting Started With EPUB</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_convert_to_html.html">Prepare Your File For Sigil</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_load_file.html">Open Your File With Sigil</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_save.html">Save Your EPUB File</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_metadata.html">Add the Author and Title</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_add_cover.html">Add a Cover Image</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_split.html">Create Files For Each Chapter</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_mark_chapters.html">Identify Your Chapters</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_generate_toc.html">Generate A Table of Contents</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_links.html">Create Links and Notes</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_code_view.html">A Quick Introduction To Code View</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_spelling.html">Check For Spelling Mistakes</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_validate.html">Check For Errors In Your EPUB</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_find_replace.html">Edit With Find &amp; Replace</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_stylesheets.html">Use Stylesheets</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_embed_fonts.html">Include Custom Fonts</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_advanced_find.html">Advanced Find &amp; Replace – Regex</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_regex_reference.html">Regular Expression Reference</a>
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          <a href="tutorial_tips.html">Tips</a>
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          <a href="faq.html#faq_common_questions">Common Questions</a>
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          <a href="faq.html#faq_questions">Where to Get Help</a>
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          <a href="faq.html#faq_using_sigil">Using Sigil</a>
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          <a href="faq.html#faq_formatting">Formatting and Styles</a>
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      <a href="contributing_to_sigil.html">Contributing to Sigil</a>
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